The Padres' Rymer Liriano reacts after a pickoff attempt by the Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium on Wednesday night. FOSTER SNELL, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

LOS ANGELES – With two pieces of their starting rotation already on the disabled list, the Dodgers will give right-hander Zack Greinke some extra rest this week in the hope it will keep his sore elbow from landing him on the DL as well.

Greinke was scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale against the San Diego Padres. He will start Saturday against the New York Mets instead, giving him a full week between starts. Left-hander Clayton Kershaw will start Thursday with right-hander Dan Haren pitching Friday against the Mets. Both Kershaw and Haren will be pitching on normal rest thanks to the Dodgers’ off day Monday.

“I can’t predict the future,” Greinke said when asked if the extra rest might be enough to let his elbow settle down.

“I expect to be able to pitch at 100 percent level. But I don’t expect to feel 100 percent while I’m doing it.”

Greinke said the current elbow issue is “pretty much similar” to pain he had during spring training of 2013. He was shut down briefly in the middle of training camp after receiving a PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection and treatment for inflammation in the back of Greinke’s elbow.

At the time, Greinke said he had experienced similar issues in the past as well. An MRI taken in March 2013 revealed no structural damage and the same was true “about two weeks ago” when Greinke again had an MRI on his elbow, according to Dodgers manager Don Mattingly.

“There’s been a little elbow discomfort but I know he’s not that concerned,” Mattingly said. “He kind of notices everything, like all these guys do.

“You’re concerned from the standpoint that he doesn’t feel 100 percent. It’s also something that he had a little bit of last year and he was pretty good. He’s been good this year. I think it’d be a lot more concern if they saw some damage or something like that or anything changes. That’s not happening. … If he keeps feeling like he’s feeling now, I don’t think he thinks it’s a DL. I don’t think anybody thinks it’s a DL.”

Thanks to Kershaw’s five-week stay on the DL early in the season, Greinke leads the Dodgers in innings pitched (1571/3 innings). With two off days next week and one in each of the following two weeks, the Dodgers will be able to lighten Greinke’s workload down the stretch – and absorb the loss of another starter, left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu. Ryu is one of five pitchers placed on the DL by the Dodgers since the start of August.

Considering how heavily the Dodgers’ postseason hopes will ride on the performances of the trio at the front of their starting rotation, the physical issues with two of the three raise some large concerns.

“There’s nothing wrong with the ligament. It’s just something that comes and goes,” Greinke said. “I can’t guarantee it’ll be good from here on out but I don’t plan on having any issues with it.

“I don’t expect to be pitching at 100 percent. I mean, it’s possible but I wouldn’t guarantee it, that’s for sure.”

Greinke said he has been dealing with the discomfort in his elbow for “the last month or so” but indicated he has been given assurances by the Dodgers’ medical staff that continuing to pitch presents no imminent danger of turning it into a major injury.

“I don’t really have a percentage or a level of concern that I could describe. I don’t know,” he said. “More than likely if something happens it shouldn’t be anything serious. I mean, there’s different levels of seriousness. But it shouldn’t be something to where I miss an extended amount of time if I did have a problem.”

RYU UPDATE

Ryu has been throwing on flat ground the past two days, an encouraging sight as he recovers from a gluteal muscle strain, Mattingly said. But there is still no target for his return to the rotation.

“Ryu continues to improve but we don’t have a lot of information (with this injury),” Mattingly said. “There haven’t been a lot of guys with it, so there’s no real timetable.

“He’s just going to keep moving forward unless he hits a wall. Right now, he’s very good. We haven’t had any setbacks. … He’s got some time so we’re not going to push him.”

Ryu will be eligible to come off the DL a week from Friday. Mattingly said he didn’t think it would be necessary for Ryu to make a rehab start or go to the Dodgers’ training complex in Arizona to face hitters before being activated.

NOTES

Right-hander Chris Perez rejoined the Dodgers on Wednesday after pitching a perfect inning for Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Monday. Perez (bone spurs in his ankle) is scheduled to continue his rehab assignment with Rancho Cucamonga on Friday. …

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation will hold its first annual 5K Run and Kids Fun Run on Sept.21 at Dodger Stadium. Registration is open online at www.dodgers.com/5K. The run includes a lap on the Dodger Stadium warning track. Registration is $40 for the 5K, $25 for the Fun Run.

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